UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2024 and Exam Pattern Download PDF

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts Civil Service Exam every year for prestigious positions in the Government of Indian, such as Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Forest Service (IFS) and Indian Revenue Service (IRS).Aspirant need to clear three stages of the exam – Prelims, Mains, and Interview Round – to be recruited for these positions.

The Preliminary exam consists of two papers:

• General Studies Paper 1 
• General Studies Paper 2 (CSAT).

UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2024

UPSC Notification 2024 has been released on its official website along with the UPSC Syllabus. Candidates preparing for the UPSC CSE 2024 read the Syllabus and Exam Pattern for the preparation tips. The UPSC Selection Process is divided into Prelims, Mains and Interviews, and each stage qualifies. UPSC Prelims is the first stage of the exam. In this article, we have discussed UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2024.

UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2024 Overview 

Candidates preparing for the UPSC examination need to know the UPSC Prelims Syllabus. UPSC Prelims exam is the initial stage of the exam and is objective. Check the overview of the Prelims examination below in the table:

UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern 2024

Candidates should thoroughly understand the UPSC Exam pattern 2024 before referring to the IAS Prelims Syllabus 2024. The UPSC Prelims exam has two papers. General Studies (GS) is the first paper for the UPSC prelims, and CSAT is the second. The Civil Services Aptitude Test is sometimes referred to as CSAT.

UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2024 Subject-wise 

UPSC Prelims detailed syllabus is available in this section. Candidates can review the complete General Studies (Paper I) and CSAT (Paper II) Syllabus subject-wise and start preparing for the UPSC Civil Service Exam 2024.

UPSC CSE 2024 General Studies Paper 1 Syllabus

The first paper of the UPSC Prelims Exam is General Studies 1 (GS-1), which includes Geography, History, Art and culture, Indian Polity, Economy, Environment and ecology, General Science, Science and technology, and Current Affairs.

UPSC Geography Syllabus 

Oceanography, Climatology, Physiography of India, Soils in India, etc., are important topics for the UPSC Exam 2024. For topic-wise detailed coverage of the IAS Prelims Syllabus for Geography.

1.General Geography

• Universe
• Earth Evolution

2.Geomorphology

• Earth’s Interior
• Geology and Rock System
• Geomorphic Process
• Earthquakes and Volcanism
• Distribution of Continents and Oceans
• Landforms and their evolution
• Landforms across the world

3.Oceanography

• Hydrosphere
• Submarine Relief Features
• Temperature and Salinity
• Waves, Oceans, Currents, Tides
• Marine Resources
• Ocean, Deposits, and Corals

4.Climatology

• Atmosphere
• Inversion of Temperature
• Insolation and Heat Budget
• Air Mass, Fronts, Cyclones and Jet Streams
• Wind and Pressure Belts
• Precipitation
• Climate Zones of the World

5.Bio Geography

• Soil Characteristics
• Vegetation Resources

6.Human and Economic Geography

• Demography and Census
• Human Development
• Economic Activities
• Transport and Communication
• International Trade
• Settlement

7.Indian Geography

• Physiography of India
• Drainage System
• Climate
• Soils in India
• Natural Vegetation
• Population
• Settlements and Urbanization
• Land Resource
• Mineral Resource
• Energy Resource
• Agriculture and Basic Terminology
• Recent developments in agriculture
• Productivity of Crops
• Industry
• Transport
• Recent developments in Industry and Transport

8.World Regional Geography

• Continents, Countries, and Cities
• Location in News

UPSC History Syllabus

Ancient History, Medieval History, and Modern History are the major categorizations of Indian History. Every section is important to understanding the chronology of Indian History thoroughly. As per the past UPSC trends, Modern History has a reputation for topic-wise detailed coverage of the IAS Prelims Syllabus for History.

Ancient History

• Pre-Historic Times
• Indus Valley Civilization
• Rig Vedic Period
• Later Vedic Period
• Jainism
• Buddhism
• Mahajanapadas
• Mauryan Empire
• Post-Mauryan Period
• Gupta Period
• Harshavardhana Period
• Sangam Period (South-Indian Dynasties)

Medieval History

• Famous Early Medieval Indian Dynasties (Pallavas, Pratiharas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas)
• Cholas and South Indian Kingdoms
• Early Muslim Invasions
• Delhi Sultanate
• Afghans, Rajputs & Mughals
• Establishment of the North-Indian Empire
• The Mughal Empire
• Marathas and the Other Indian States
• The decline of the Mughal Empire
• Vijaynagar Empire

Modern History

• Advent of Europeans
• British Expansion
• Administration before 1857
• Economic Policies of the British
• Impact of British Administration
• Revolt of 1857
• Administrative Changes after 1857
• Development of Civil Services
• Development of Education
• Development of Press
• Socio-Religious Reforms
• Peasant Movements
• Revolutionary Nationalism
• Indian National Movement-I (1905-1918)
• Indian National Movement-II (1918-1929)
• Indian National Movement-III (1930-1947)
• Governors-General and Viceroys of India
• Constitutional Development of Indian

UPSC Art and Culture Prelims Syllabus

Architecture, Classical dance forms, Folk dance forms, Mural Painting, Miniature Paintings, etc. are essential topics for the UPSC exam. For topic-wise detailed coverage of the IAS Prelims Syllabus For Art and Culture.

• Architecture
• Sculpture
• Paintings (Mural & Miniature)
• Pottery Tradition
• Numismatics
• Performing Arts (Dance, Music, Theater, Martial Arts)
• Religion and Literature
• National and Regional Festivals

UPSC Environment Syllabus

Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Mangroves, Coral Reefs, Climate Change, etc., are important topics for the UPSC exam. For topic-wise detailed coverage of the IAS Prelims Syllabus For Environment and Ecology.

• Origin of Life Forms
• Basic Concepts of Ecology
• Ecosystem Functions
• Population Ecology
• Adaptation of Species and Interactions
• Terrestrial Ecosystem
• Aquatic Ecosystem
• Nutrient Cycling

Biodiversity

• Basics of Biodiversity
• Animal and Plant Diversity
• Threats to Biodiversity
• Biodiversity Conservation
• Estuaries
• Mangroves
• Coral Reefs
• Wetlands
• Resource Degradation and Management
• Environmental Pollution
• Climate Change
• Environmental Governance

UPSC Polity Syllabus

Fundamental Rights, DPSPs, Fundamental Duties, Judiciary, CAG, Attorney General of India, etc., are important topics for the UPSC exam. For topic-wise detailed coverage of the IAS Prelims Syllabus for Indian Polity.

• Evolution of the Constitution
• Salient Features of the Indian Constitution
• Union Territories
• Citizenship
• Fundamental Rights
• Directive Principles of State Policy
• Fundamental Duties
• System of Governance
• Union Executive
• Union Legislature
• State Executive
• State Legislature
• Local Government
• UT and Special Areas
• Judiciary
• Constitutional & Non-Constitutional Bodies
• Political Dynamics (Political Parties, Elections, Pressure Groups)
• Governance
• International Relations

UPSC Economy Syllabus 

Money and banking, Monetary Policy, Fiscal Policy, Inflation, Five-year plans, etc. are essential topics for the UPSC exam. For topic-wise detailed coverage of the IAS Prelims Syllabus for Economy.

Basic Concepts

• Macroeconomic Concepts
• Microeconomic Concepts

Economic Measurements

• National Income & Its Calculation
• Economic Growth and Development
• Inflation

Money & Banking

• Money Function & Classification
• Financial Markets & Its Instruments
• Banking Structure in India

Public Finance in India

• Budgeting
• Fiscal Policy
• Centre-state Distribution
• Tax Structure in India

Planning

• Meaning, Objective & History
• Planning Institutions
• Five-Year Plans in India
• NITI Aayog

Open Economy

• Foreign Trade Concepts
• International Organizations
• Trade Agreements
• Recent Development

Economic Sectors

• Poverty
• Employment and Unemployment
• Government Schemes and Programmes

UPSC General Science Syllabus 

Science and technology, Defence, Space, Biology, Basic Physics concepts, Biotechnology, etc., are important topics for the UPSC exam. For topic-wise detailed coverage of the IAS Prelims Syllabus for General Science.

• Science and Technology in India
• Space
• IT and Communication
• Materials, Nano Technology and Robotics
• Defence
• Nuclear Technology
• Intellectual Property Rights and Other Miscellaneous Issues
• Biotechnology

Check out the linked article on the Indian Polity Notes Here!

UPSC CSAT Syllabus 2024 

The following main categories comprise the UPSC CSAT Syllabus 2024 that has been mentioned in the UPSC’s notification 2024:

• Comprehension
• Interpersonal skills, including communication skills
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability
• Decision-making and problem-solving
• General mental ability
• Basic numerical skills (orders of magnitude, numbers & their relations, etc.) (Class X level)
• Data Interpretation (graphs, charts, tables, data sufficiency, etc.) (Class X level).

UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2024 PDF

Candidates can download the Officials UPSC Syllabus PDF Download 2024 here to enhance their preparation for the UPSC Exam 2024

Important Facts about the UPSC Prelims Exam 2024

• For each incorrectly marked answer, one-third of a mark is deducted; however, no marks are deducted for unanswered questions.
• For General Studies (Paper I), candidates earn 2 marks for the correct answer, and 0.66 is deducted for each incorrect answer.
• Candidates will be awarded 2.5 marks for each correct answer on CSAT (Paper-II), and 0.833 marks will be deducted for each incorrect answer. This paper will qualify with a fixed minimum qualifying mark of 33%.
• The preliminary exam marks won’t be counted into the final score (merit list).
• The General Studies exam is organized in the morning shift, and the CSAT (GS Paper 2) in the evening shift on the same day.

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